The book is a systematic study of the China-Britain relationship during the 1942-1949 period
with a particular focus on the two countries' discussions over both the 1943 Sino-British
treaty and the discarded Sino-British commercial treaty the future of Hong Kong and the
political status of Tibet. These were dominated by two underlying themes: the elimination of
the British imperialist position in China and the establishment of an equal and reciprocal
bilateral relationship. The negotiations started promisingly in 1942-1943 but by 1949 had
failed to reach a satisfactory settlement. Behind the failure lay a complex set of domestic
considerations and external factors including the powerful infl uence of the United States.
Even after seven decades the failure still has a contemporary impact. Recent Sino-British
disputes over the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement and incessant
Indo-Chinese confl icts and skirmishes over their unsettled borders all attest tothe enduring
legacy of the years 1942-1949 as setting the scene for subsequent Sino-British and Sino-Indian
relations. From this perspective the history has never left us.
